I have so many things to share with you and to post it here!!! :D
But these last two days I've given priority to reply to all emails and catch up on blogs... mission accomplished :) I also took care of my garden and cleaned the house.. more cleaning only next year ;) hehehehehe I'm ready to say goodbye to the old year, hello to the new and do nothing but rest and stitch for this weekend! :D On Monday I'll be back to work.. reality awaits! :p Until then, I must make the most of it ;) Our New Year's Eve is always with family, Christmas was in Lisbon so tomorrow night we'll have dinner and celebrate with Rui's family, here in Guimarães :)

As for the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway, there wasn't enough time to check the entries, I don't even have the notion of how many people will enter the draw! :p heheheh You can imagine how this requires a little time for logistics ;) I ask you a few more days, we'll make the draw next week, ok? :)

Enjoy the weekend! Enter 2012 with the right foot! :D
ﾟ･｡.｡･ﾟﾟ･｡.｡･ﾟﾟ･｡ Happy New Year ﾟ･｡.｡･ﾟﾟ･｡.｡･ﾟﾟ･｡

We're back home! The trip to Lisbon was great but it's over :p Six days of family time but, more than that, six days to play a lot with Carol - if she could decide, we would never leave Lisbon! LOL

First two days were only to cook, bake, make final preparations for Christmas eve. We ended up making a Christmas à la French :) At 11 p.m. in Portugal, it was midnight in France so we opened the gifts hehehe the young child was impatient! At midnight, we were picking up the papers from the floor and we all shouted "It's midnight! Let's open the presents" hahaha Major laugh! :D

I had my Santa's helper hat :)
And for Carol a Cristmas hat with cute white braids :D

I've decided my presents for everyone next year... pom poms! Boxes filled with pompoms!! hahhahaha Everyone loved the pom poms I used for wrapping the gifts, not a single one was left at the end of the night, not even the one from my present! :D LOL

Bye Bye Santa, until next year! ;)

Now I have lots of photos to organize, emails to reply, update my blog reading and on the weekend there'll be a giveaway winner! :D

I hope your Christmas was exceptional :) I'm still on vacation in Lisbon and I'm not having much chance to stay online... a 6 year old is consuming all my time! :D hahaha I come to Lisbon a few times a year so Carol (my niece) requires full attention and she just wants to play with me =))) Tomorrow is the last day, we are going home, back to Guimarães. I promise that, as soon as possible, I will reply to all messages and thank all gifts and cards!! :D
Until then I send you a big hug!!!!! :)

E como o Natal é um dia de surpresas, o último presente na botinha do giveaway é surpresa! hahahahah Pois é, este último item será uma surpresa para a vencedora abrir no dia em que receber a botinha ;) Tinha de deixar o melhor para o fim, não acham? :DAnd because Christmas is a day of surprises, my last gift on the giveaway Stocking is a surprise! hahahahah That's it, this last item will be a surprise for the winner to open on the day she'll receive the Stocking ;) I had to save the best for last, right? :D

Muito obrigada a todas as que aqui participaram e partilharam fotos e posts :)
Não é fácil postar todos os dias mas vocês ajudaram ao ritmo da festa! :D
Ainda vou dar um tempo para todas reverem os posts, não se esqueçam que para participar no giveaway deverão ter comentado todos os post desta festa!A huge thank you to all who joined the fun and shared pictures and posts :) It's not easy to post every day but you helped to keep the rhythm of the party! :D I'll give some time for everyone to review all posts, don't forget, to enter the stocking giveaway you should have commented on all the post on this party!

Probably, most of you are just like me, crafters and amateur photographers :)
The interest in taking good pictures is directly linked to the fact that we post on our blogs and we also enjoy to share images that nicely show our work ;)
How about some tips for taking pictures on Christmas Eve? :D

Turn off the flash! To really capture the atmosphere, nothing like the warm and natural colors :) Maybe some photos will come out a little blurred but with practice it gets better, the trick is to keep a steady hand while holding the camera to give good stability ;)

Less poses! Candid shots to catch those special moments :)

Different perspectives! Don't stick only to front and centered photos, use your imagination, be rebel, stand up on a chair if necessary! hehehe You will find out that pictures from other angles can look pretty cool :)

And like everything else in life: have fun! :D May you have an evening full of smiles and joy, take lots of pictures to remember later! And also to share with us! :D hehehe

For the giveaway... fabric! Christmas FQ :)
The giveaway Stocking is almost full, just one more gift tomorrow! :D

Some friends have been surprised by a blue little letter in the mailbox :) A postcard from my Little Box of Pixie Dust and a tiny gift =) I would like to send a stocking full of presents to all friends, something cross stitched... we all know it's not easy to do that, short time, big postage! :p

You've probably recognized my card on some blogs, along with the postcard, I sent a felt mistletoe :) I followed this tutorial to make the first and I thought that the result was so cute! It looked like a perfect treat to spread some smiles across the globe :D

It took some time to make but I had a lot of fun watching them grow, aligned on the table... I made more than 30! :p

This year I was able to post early on the mail, but even so, at this time the mail always takes a little longer to run the world! I hope a few more will be delivered in these two days, otherwise... I hope it will make you smile next week! =) Hehehehe

Has anyone got kisses because of my mistletoe yet?? :D LOL
Hmmm... What can I ask you to share for today's theme... A photo of some mistletoe decorating in your house? Do you also have the tradition of giving kisses under the mistletoe? :)

Now I'm going to spread some kisses to Lisbon! ehheeh Grab our bags and start the trip, we will spend Christmas with my family :) I'll still have internet access, I'll keep in touch and posting here too :)

But I can't go without leaving a present in the giveaway Stocking!!!
Two ornaments, a teddy bear and a DMC frame:)

In this last year I've stitched a few snowmen but they are not my favorite 'character' at Christmas season, my eyes are brighter by cute reindeers and...
... gingerbreads! * cuteness overload * eheheheheh

Among my favorite cross stitch works is the first picture above, I made a bottle apron for a friend, a few years ago. Another one, on the next picture... to be a Christmas recipe book :) I stitched this one in 2010 but I haven't finished it into a book because I'm still looking for what I want.. it's the problem of having on our mind a clear idea of what we really want to make and it's not always easy to find the right supplies :p But in time I believe I'll find what I'm seeking and I'll do it just the way I want :)

On the top of my tree, the little angel also has her ginger =)
One day I'll be crazy enough to make a gingerbread house... or try! I will start with the intention of making a really cute and pretty gingerbread house but in the end I will have something in the style of the house of horrors! LOL :D To take that ugly idea from your head, I close this post with an old video but it's still funny, gingerbreads in the oven doing the Haka! :D

Do you have some cute gingerbread to show us? Or a delicious cookie recipe for me to bake? :D ehehheh

For the giveaway stocking I bring you a little house, not gingerbread but another kind that you can use when eating some cookies ;) Tea strainer house and a bag of portuguese candy called snowflakes! (sending tea can be tricky to pass along some borders)

Finally! I'm posting earlier in the day uhuuuuuu! :D Lol If you haven't read yesterday's post, don't forget to take a peek here ;)

I've posted about cross stitched ornaments, today is about felt :) Made ​​by more experienced crafters or just beginner, the result is always something cute =)
Again... I don't have any made by me! I gave all away... also, I spend more time stitching, cross stitch is the strongest hobby here =) But there are very cute felt pieces on my house! Thanks to my friends who send as gift, like the Santa hanging on my door :) (first pic above)

On the outside of the door is the wreath, with the snowman giving a warm welcome, on inside is Santa Claus saying goodbye to those who leaving :D Lol

If you like to make felt decorations, I gathered a few ideas from other bloggers, all images in the mosaic have tutorial, just click in the respective link ;)
Show us your felt decorations too! :D

The giveaway Stocking is getting pretty full... lets hope that the lucky winner will enjoy the presents! :p Today we have... a kit to make ornaments in cross stitch and felt, also some sequins and charms :) (sorry for the bad light in the picture, St. Peter's fault!)

I'm not sure if this happens in countries where it's now summer, but on this side of the globe, snow is strongly associated with the Christmas season. Artificial snow and snowflakes are always part of the decoration :) So we won't forget the cold that we feel here!!! LOL It's so - but really soooo - cold here, this weekend we had temperatures below zero... freezing... brrrr ...

Although I started writing this post yesterday... it's ten o'clock at night again! :p ahahahha Well, I was late for a good cause! I bring something new to show you, fresh from doing tonight :)

It snowed under my Christmas tree!! :D hahahha Remember my doubts about the tree skirt? Number four was a simple white layer of snow... voilá! I managed to find a fabric that makes that snow effect, I just had to cut, sew a little, put it in place and simulate the mountains! It's discrete but I think it looks nice and cute :)

You always say that I do so much but, believe me, my project list is still long! Time will never be enought to make all that I want to make :p And if it was I'd probably make up a lot of other things! LOL I was happy with my little blue tree that I did yesterday, I want to make another one this week, different color :)
Still for this year, I think I won't have time to make snowflakes to hang by the windows... maybe I'll do it after Christmas... maybe it will stay on my list of projects for 2012 :p

Do you have snowflakes on your house too? In the mosaic above, I put together a few ideas that I like, maybe it will inspire you too :)

Can you guess what I have for the Stocking giveaway tonight?
A mini snow globe! With a cute reindeer peeking :) hehehehe